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functions

To meet specialized requirements in warfare, divisions have evolved into several types, falling within two general classifications: infantry and armoured. Infantry divisions, known as rifle divisions in the Russian army, are organized and equipped for combat under all conditions of terrain and weather; they comprise the principal portion of the fighting forces of an army. An infantry division...

panzer divisions

(“
armoured division”), a self-contained combined-arms military unit of the German army, built around and deriving its mission largely from the capabilities of armoured fighting vehicles. A panzer division in World War II consisted of a tank brigade with four battalions, a motorized infantry brigade with four rifle battalions, an artillery regiment, and reconnaissance, antitank, and...

tank development

...including 211 Pz. IVs. What made the German panzers so formidable was that, instead of being divided between various infantry and cavalry tank units, they were all concentrated and used in massed formations in the panzer divisions. The successes of the panzer divisions during the first two years of World War II led the major armies to reorganize most of their tanks into similar formations;...